The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is a perfect example of highly successful transmedia. A series of web tools that integrate all aspects of the narrative, and creates unique content based on existing (and out of copyright) properties.

Transmedia Victoria defines transmedia as “…the combining of multiple creative practices on a diverse range of platforms or artforms to deliver a cohesive, multi-sited, experience.” The Lizzie Bennet Diaries does this and more by utilising multiple websites to tell the characters’ stories. The Q&A videos with Lizzie allow for greater participation and community development in the world of the Bennet sisters.

Austen is a perfect conduit for the transmedia model as her work has so often been translated and adapted into a myriad of forms. The rich characters, universal emotional beats and social commentary allow room for variations in place and time. For example, although ‘Lost in Austen’ and ‘Bride and Prejudice’ took liberties with Pride and Prejudice, they still hit the same narrative markers, translating the story for a different era and culture. While there have been modern takes on Elizabeth and Darcy’s journey towards understanding and togetherness, it has never been told in this way before – using multiple online platforms.

Hank Green (creator) stated his preference for “… simple, powerful ideas” and it was his idea that kicked off this project. Co-opting Bernie Su as a creator, they have used the strength of Austen’s storytelling to explore the benefits of transmedia, with character and story always at the fore.

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (LBD) launched on Youtube in April of 2012 in twice-weekly instalments, each episode with a run-time of approximately four minutes. A modern take on Austen’s most beloved work, LBD recreates twenty-year old Elizabeth Bennet from the 1813 novel into a present-day twenty-four year old graduate student in communications. As part of her studies Lizzie and her best friend, Charlotte conceive the video series as their response to a class project.

The structure of Pride and Prejudice and its characters lend to some effortless translation. Bingley becomes Bing Lee, injecting diversity into the cast along with his sister, Caroline. Charlotte Lucas is recreated as a fellow grad student and Girl Friday, Charlotte Lu. The Bennet parentals never appear on screen – their presence is felt second-hand via the story elements retold as costume theatre. This serves two functions; limiting the number of cast members necessary, and signalling to the audience that their protagonist’s perspective might not be completely correct.

The female characters aren’t the only ones that have undergone changes for the time period. Whereas Bingley’s weakness in the original stems from his sisters’ use of him as a puppet, in LBD his malleability stems from uncertainty in his career direction. Wickham becomes an even more frightful character as he uses his charm to weave an inextricable hold over the youngest Bennet sister, preying on her vulnerability.

The storyline is firmly rooted in the 21st century with the hundred episodes detailing Lizzie as she and her sisters learn to understand themselves and each other better. Some creative licence was necessary in order to streamline the narrative arcs. Five Bennet sisters become three with Mary and Kitty making chuckle-worthy appearances as the emo cousin and the family pet respectively. The wit of Austen’s work was retained with the use of more modern concepts of sarcasm, snark and parody. Costume dramas enable events taking place elsewhere to be retold to the camera in Lizzie’s bedroom. Read the rest of this entry »

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Rebecca Henson to the position of Reading and Literacy Development Manager, responsible for the Centre for Youth Literature (12-20) and Children and Family programs (0-12) at State Library Victoria.

Rebecca brings strong leadership ability and good strategic planning skills which she has developed working in educational publishing over a career spanning 20 years. Most recently this has been at Cengage Learning Australia and Macmillan Education Australia where she was Publishing Editor and Senior Publisher, respectively.

Rebecca has led project teams ensuring that project and business objectives are met and helped team members build skills and develop their capacity. Her experience in educational publishing and focus on literacy across a range of projects will bring an interesting skillset to the position, especially as the Library develops its services and programs for young learners alongside the Vision 2020 project.

We look forward to welcoming her to the Library when she starts on Thursday, 28 July.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that every person in the English speaking world has been exposed to some version of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Whether it’s the epistolary neuroticism of Bridget Jones, the lovingly crafted and loyal 1995 BBC TV series, or the Bollywood influenced musical numbers, Austen’s most loved work has continued to make itself relevant in the two hundred years since its release.

Never out of vogue, Pride and Prejudice has been retold in a range of mediums from the merging of a horror, mystery and suped up romance, to dramatic adaptations on stage and screen, and even a jaunt into picture book territory (Mr Darcy, as a duck) in the past two decades.

In 2012 the world of Meryton and Netherfield merged with that of the internet in the form of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. Hank Green and Bernie Su co-createdThe Lizzie Bennet Diaries (LBD) in a way that lovingly references the classic text, reflects current society and social media, and created a staggeringly engaged community around their series.

This series of blog posts (6) explores the transformation of Pride and Prejudice into The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, and will cover context, transmedia, audience connection, adaptation and classroom applications.

I’m sad to announce I’ll soon be leaving the Centre for Youth Literature, with my last day here being Friday 20 May. It has been an honour to work for an organisation that champions the benefits of reading for pleasure, and supports the voices and views of young adults. I am however, very excited to have the opportunity to shift into supporting and advocating for LGBTIQA young people, working with Geelong’s Adolescent Sexuality Project (GASP).

I have loved working with the Centre for Youth Literature for the last five years, and I will be taking so many great memories with me – most of which involve meeting and working with wonderful people, both in person and online. The youth literature community is beautiful, with so many people passionate about getting great books into the hands of Australian teens. It has also been a privilege to work with, and publish writing by, so many talented young readers – superstars, the lot of them.

L-R: Inky Awards Judges Lauren, Angus, and Vinhara, with Jordi Kerr

In the last 5 years the Centre for Youth Literature has:

Run 519 in-person sessions, with over 30,000 total attendances

Had three-quarter of a million visits to our digital community

Grown our social media community by over 9,000 people

Had 129% increase in Inky Awards teen voting

And, in the last 3 years, we’ve worked with 176 writers and speakers… a quarter of whom were teens.

Today marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. If you’d like to commemorate the bard with a YA twist, here’s a few adaptations and “inspired-by”s from Australian storytellers! (Click images for full size.)

Reading and Literacy Development Manager

State Library Victoria is the state’s premier reference and research library, the hub of a state-wide information and communications network, and a gateway to the world’s information.

About the Role

This position manages the Reading and Literacy Development team and ensures the delivery of key programs and services including the Centre for Youth Literature, family reading promotion and literacy development initiatives. It is responsible for developing a coherent strategy for reading, literature and literacy engagement for State Library Victoria, and also for creating and building the relationships and partnerships which support this work.

Applicants should have a strong commitment, experience and understanding of both reader development and literacy promotion, and to the continuous learning of all members of the community.

How to Apply

For a Position Description and to apply, please visit the job vacancy here, on the Victorian Government Careers website.

We promote diversity and practice equity – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are encouraged toapply.

2016 marks a decade of the Inky Awards. The Awards, which recognise high-quality young adult literature, are judged entirely by teen readers.

‘The Inky Awards are a great opportunity to give teenagers books to read that other teenagers have approved of.’
-Oliver, 2015 Inky Awards Judge

These are the books teens love, chosen by teens, so we want to make sure that everyone knows about them! Our Inky Awards Ambassador Program is designed to encourage schools to program events around the Inky Awards and to support them as they do so. Ambassador schools will:

– act as the local hub for all things Inky

– be responsible for uniting their local reading community

– work with the Centre for Youth Literature to run key events that tie in with the Awards

But even more importantly the Ambassador Program, like the Awards themselves, has been developed with teens in mind. Ambassador Schools have selected a team of teen ambassadors who will develop, market, and produce their Inky Awards events. These teens will be working closely with the Centre for Youth Literature to deliver a high standard event that showcases their love of books, and create a space that unites their reading community.

It is with a mixture of sadness and happiness (for her!) that we advise that Anna Burkey has joined the Arts Centre as their new Head of Arts Learning.

Anna has done an outstanding job in her three-and-a-half years at State Library Victoria achieving many career highlights with the Reader Development (Families and CYL) team – Children’s Book Festivals, Reading Matters conferences, the development of children’s and family programs (Baby Bounce and Storytime), the growth of the Inky Awards – to name but a few. She has been a tireless advocate for young/er readers and reading.

This is an exciting time for many of the programs within our children, teens and reading portfolio, including:

Centre for Youth Literature

Plans to redevelop Inside a Dog (proving you can teach an old dog new tricks!)

Curating an exciting and challenging program for Reading Matters 2017

A bigger and better Inky Awards, coupled with a new ambassador schools program

A new Shift Alt Story program, supporting professionals to engage with new and emerging forms of storytelling

The development of new partnerships

The annual Publishers Roundtable and Year Ahead in Youth Literature

Children and families

Building on the success of our ever-popular Storytime and Baby Bounce and Play Pod programs

Developing a number of new program options.

In addition, State Library Victoria will be creating new dedicated children’s and teen spaces as part of its $83m building redevelopment. We are very excited about this, and particularly the prospect of working with children/families and teens to co-design these spaces. And we are looking forward to the Centre for Youth Literature’s programs having a permanent physical presence in the teen space.